Aviation News

A Japanese company has completed what it says is the first manned test of a single-seat octocopter in the country. SkyDrive did a four-minute hop with the SD-03 electric VTOL vehicle at the Toyota Test Field on Aug. 28. The pilot was at the controls but computers helped him maintain stability. There were also backup […]

The FAA has issued an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) telling those who have Sandia SAI-340A attitude indicators that they cannot fly them under IFR or night VFR conditions and that the instrument must not be coupled to an autopilot. The device is also sold as a BendixKing KI-300. The agency is aware of 54 units […]

United Launch Alliance says it will be at least a week before it can try again to launch an expensive spy satellite from Cape Canaveral. Its Delta IV Heavy rocket automatically aborted starting its engines just three seconds before liftoff early Saturday. The launch had already been postponed from its Aug. 27 planned liftoff. In […]

The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) has requested that law firm Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein, P.L.C. (OFM&K) file a motion for leave to intervene in two cases that were appealed to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The cases concern the FAA’s denial of two repair station recommendations “supporting repairmen certificates for supervisors with […]

Anyone watching the progress of Hurricane Laura this week would have noticed that the Lake Charles NWS doppler weather radar suddenly went offline. That’s because the storm’s strong gusts destroyed the system’s sensor and antenna array, leaving a twisted stalk in place but little else. Lake Charles is immediately north of Cameron, Louisiana, where Laura […]

Appareo has announced that its Stratus Insight electronic flight bag (EFB) can now be integrated with Avidyne’s Helios and Atlas flight management systems. The systems join the list of Stratus Insight-compatible Avidyne products, which includes the IFD 440, 540 and 550 GPS navigators. According to Appareo, the integration allows users to push flight plans between […]

Otto Aviation officially unveiled its Celera 500L clean-sheet passenger aircraft on Wednesday, stating that its full-scale prototype has already completed 31 successful test flights. According to the company, the Celera will offer an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to a similar business aircraft. In addition to passenger travel, Otto is marketing the aircraft […]

Astronaut Gerald “Jerry” Carr passed away on Wednesday at the age of 88. Selected for NASA’s astronaut program in April 1966, Carr performed Capcom duties during the Apollo 8 and Apollo 12 missions and was involved in the development and testing of the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) used by Apollo flight crews. On Nov. 16, […]

Island Express Helicopters has filed a lawsuit alleging that two air traffic controllers are responsible for the crash of a company Sikorsky S-76B helicopter that killed retired NBA star Kobe Bryant and eight others last January. The cross-complaint asserts that the accident was caused by “a series of erroneous acts and/or omissions” committed by the […]

Citing the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Australia-based Qantas Group has announced that it is exploring a series of initiatives designed to reduce operating costs by potentially outsourcing some in-house ground operations for Qantas airlines and subsidiary Jetstar Airways. The company estimates that outsourcing ground handling and bus services at certain airports will […]